UPHOLD
by sammiedathan
Summary: A Progression part 2. Follow Hiruma and Mamori as they make their way towards a Happy Wedding and happily ever after.
1. 1st down: Merry Tokyo

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.

A/N: This is still a continuation of Progression. The idea is still the same but the little details is changed a bit. Hehehe

An uproar of fireworks took vacancy of the entirety of Tokyo. It filled the sky as if it was a newly positioned star or constellation. No organization nor man ever put on such works for any not known celebration. A display that made people of different ranks question their memory if they had perhaps forgotten something important. No, it wasn't particularly important to those two faced so called social elites what the celebration was. Nor was it any importance to any regular slash normal human being. It didn't concern them, not even in the tiniest but one could not be faulted to wonder.

"This is so You-nii, don't you think Sena?" Suzuna with a wide grin stared at the spectacle all over the sky as she spoke to the said man beside her. Due to lack of interest to the man, she didn't see that he was sweatdropping from another spectacle that garnered his attention.

"Yeah this is so Hiruma senpai." It was a shame that he wasn't paying his attention to the fireworks but his eyes can't detached itself from the duo he knew so well.

Sena wasn't able to hear the duo's conversation but hearing was not anything advantegous when you can clearly see as day as to what was transpiring. Hiruma was obviously cackling, amusement written all over his person. Mamori was irritated and speaking to him with a menacing look. They were most probably in argument with the fireworks that were still going on. Well to be honest, it was only Mamori that was actually arguing.

"What are you looking at Sena?" Suzuna finally averted her gaze towards her companion.

"Hmmmph, just something magical." He stated while also looking back at Suzuna. With some confusion, Suzuna actually blushed wildly at what was said. If only she knew that her boyfriend was describing his childhood friend and senpai, then she would have melted out of embarassment.

Seconds after that, the sky finally relaxed and noise evaporated to nothingness. And the crowd which consisted of Hiruma's and Mamori's friends and families were sporting a smile that was almost as bright as the celebrants. They waited patiently as the duo signalled each other who was supposed to be speaking. It was Mamori that won the right.

"I don't know what to say aside from thank you everyone for coming. For the past year, you all witnessed how horrible and miserable I had been. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it because that was what I really felt deep down inside. I couldn't say the sake thing as to the man beside me right now. But maybe he also felt that way because he actually accepted me back. So all I really wanted everyone to know is that me and this lovely demonic man whom I love more than anything is…"

"We're fucking engaged. So you better fucking drink 'til you're drunk or I'll fucking kill you. YA-HA!!!"

"Youichi!"

"Quit being sappy damn woman." He grabbed her by her waist and pulled her closer. She crossed her arms in disapproval of his comment. They had agreed that she was the one to announce but he got impatient just like usual. Clacking of glasses were heard, mimicking a sight seen in a wedding reception. He grinned, she smiled. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged. She stood by her tiptoes and placed a short but sweet chaste kiss.

"I love you Hiruma Youichi."

"I fucking love you Anezaki Mamori."


	2. 2nd down: The Beginning

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.

There was something about the infamous demonic man that could make Anezaki Mamori loss all senses. She wasn't describing him via bed performance though she would admit off the record he could make her forget her name. No, what Mamori was trying to point out was that Hiruma as a human being in totality could make her loss all senses. She knew though that admitting that out loud especially to the man was not even to be toyed upon. Information was his number 1 arsenal in his long list of weapons to be honest. And there were plenty of information she didn't want him to know as to not boost his already enormous ego.

Informations such as, 'I would miss you so much it'll hurt' or perhaps 'I'll be dreaming of you probably every night' or a more adult theme of 'You'll be my inspiration everytime I touch myself'. Those were the type of information she would probably not say ever, so as not to appear like a typical clingy girlfriend/fiancee. Though watching him fix his suit now really made her doubt her resilience of not blurting it out.

"Speak up or I'll fucking kiss you." Well that was a new threat or should she better say treat. She smiled like a maniac.

"What do you mean?" Hiruma rolled his eyes as he finished his neck tie. He turned around and face his one and only lovely manager.

"I'll be fucking calling you when I arrive."

"Can't you stay longer Youichi?" she pleaded with her eyes. She did missed him dearly. Everyone who knew her knew too well how much. To be honest, she expected him to laugh like a maniac and tease her for being a damn sappy fiancee.

"I would if I could." He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back and they stayed like that for quite some time before he decided to withdraw himself and stare at her. He kissed her in the forehead and it brought a wider smile to her face. And then he rested his chin on her head.

"I'm going to miss you." The words barely left his mouth but she heard it clearly as if it was shouted from the top of his lungs. It turned her eyes into a pair of saucers but she absorbed all of his love and longing like a newly bought sponge. So she tightened her hold around his broad shoulders.

That moment was halted as a beep from his watch echoed throughout the living room of her apartment. It was time for him to go back to his daily job as a NFL player. They officially broke their hug. He stood there looking like the dashing man she knew he was all along. And she wiped off those miniscule dust that may or may not have linger at his suit. She was buying herself some time and he was kind enough to let her.It was not their first goodbye but it felt like it came too soon.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go to the airport with you?"

"Kekeke, there is no need damn Anezaki."

He grabbed his suitcase and walked towards the main door as she tail him, holding into his other hand.

"I love you Youichi." He nodded and kissed her, this time it was on her delicate sweet lips.

OoOoOo

"Sensei my father would like to give this flowers to you." The 3 year old Izumi Kei beamed handing the said bouquet to Mamori. She accepted the flowers and smiled in return. The boy hop in joy and skipped as he walked towards his seat.

"I see that you accepted the flowers this time Anezaki-san."

"I couldn't possibly make a child sad Izumi-san." She forced a smile on her face as she talked to the man.

To his defense, he did look stunning, charismatic in fact. And it was written all over his body that he came from a family with money and power. And no matter how many times Mamori rejected the man, he never stop. Given he was a nice man, there was nothing she could say off bat that was rotten on him aside from the fact that he was getting on her nerves as he was so persistent.

"Izumi-san I would really appreciate it if you would stop all this. I recently got engaged you see."

"Engaged?" he was taken aback. Last time he check, she was not dating anyone.

"Yes, Hiruma and I got back together."

"Your ex? Hmmmph"

Mamori cocked an eyebrow.

"If you left him the first place then there is still a possibility that you'll leave him again or better yet he'll leave you himself Anezaki-san."

Before she could open her mouth to retort, the school bell rang.

"See you tomorrow Anezaki-san." He bided his farewell with a cheshire smile.


	3. 3rd down: Changes

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.

A/N: I AM NOT GOING TO ABANDON THIS . NOPE I WILL REALLY SITCK TO THIS ONE. SO PLEASE NOTICE ME SENPAI. HAHAHA

oOoOoOo

It was undeniable. Their relationship wasn't built within the premise of conventional stereotypical ones. They fought a lot, he had a colorful mouth when addressing her, she had stepped into his personal space for numerous times. They weren't a match made in heaven, as one did not believe in such place to exist in the first place. People could compare them into heaven and hell, yin and yang, angel and devil and just about every little thing that strongly contrast as black and white. People where not entirely wrong when doing so and it wasn't like any of the two minded it. It was just observation, purely based on dumb yet not so observations. In actuality, Mamori preferred the contrast within them. It had made everything exciting, exhilarating and dare she say dangerous at times. Ever since he had opened her eyes into the world full of uncertainties and color, she couldn't imagine wanting anything or anyone else.

When they got back together, Mamori expected the same. There shouldn't be any colossal difference because even if Hiruma was in another country, may it be another planet altogether he always had his way of being there. To be honest there was no obvious difference, even Mamori herself almost didn't feel it but the keyword there was almost. As one song said, almost is never enough. She was ready to shove that almost into oblivion but her inner pit. The hole that had dug itself inside her heart was not completely healed. It was tolerable at best.

She could have placed the blame on the distance taking its toll on her. Distance was easy to blame after all. It was safe and it wasn't anyone's fault. But with one phone call that led them into a cold distant silence, she figured it out. There was something different and it wasn't the distance. Suddenly, he was all about clean words, no maniacal laughter, no plotting for some person to drop dead in front of him, no more teasing on her excessive snacking or her weight and certainly no more talks about obtaining a great powerful arsenal for his armory. Suddenly he was not the Hiruma she used to know.

There were times that she baited him into talking about those things. Did she felt guilt for doing so? Not entirely, she was a woman on a mission. And each time her mission would fail. No colorful reactions, no outbursts of maniac laughing, no sound background of a gun shooting wildly. She couldn't help but wonder if she did that to him?

"You've changed." She whispered into her microphone. She was sitting by her computer table, skyping her fiancée. It was nearing midnight in Japan and midday in America. She was wearing her nightgown, the nightgown that he had bought her before. It was sort of explicit to look at but she loved wearing it. it reminded her of Hiruma, plus there was always an amused look deep inside his eyes when she would wear it. Her main reason of wearing it tonight though was to draw to see that same reaction from him tonight or today. She did not fail to see the glitter in his eyes. And her heart skipped a beat as he asked a question about it. At the very least she was sure that he still wanted her.

"What do you mean?" his words were gentle, as if he was threading on very thin line.

"It's like you're not Hiruma anymore. You've changed." She stared at his image in the computer. He narrowed his eyes, frowned and paused, thinking of the right words to say. What did he want to say? Should he deny the accusation? Was there anything to deny? Was there anything to hide? Did he change?

"I did not."

"Yes you have. You never cursed anymore, at least not in front of me. I don't see you with your M5 anymore or pistol or shotgun or any of your arsenals. You don't get irritated with me. You don't interrupt. You're not you."

"You want me to get angry with you?"

"No, I want you to start acting like yourself." He blinked like some lost puppy. She sighed a deep one.

"You know I am not making any sense and you should have pointed that out. You always point out my faults."

"You want me to nag at you?"

"No, I just want you."

"But you do have me Anezaki."

"Are you getting angry at me for not doing what I 'should have'?" That question made her blood boil.

"Are you serious right now Youichi?!" her voice was becoming pitchy.

"I don't know what you want from me Mamori. Maybe you should sleep. I think you need to sleep."

Her mood got worse and she ended the call without even saying goodbye.

Every curse that Hiruma's vast vocabulary contained come flying out of his mouth way worse than his machine gun. Just as he thought he finally figured out how he should be, she had to open her mouth and whine about him not being him. Well if that isn't some sh*t! How was he supposed to act in order to make her happy? How was he supposed to be that one that she would rely on and never leave whenever the thought strike her? How was he supposed to leach himself into her without smoldering her or being way to lax about it?

"F*CKING B*LLSH*T!"


	4. 4th down: Beat Armor

**NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.**

A/N: So I just realized something. My writing method from Progression is quite different from UPHOLD. I mean every chapter in Progression had a theme. UPHOLD seemed to be well, has no theme at all per chapter. I'm only pointing it out, nothing to be worried about.

Also if you are an avid reader of mine, you might have notice that I usually murder the word 'just' in everything I write. It had been awhile since I noticed that yes I do overuse the word 'just'. If one was to do a drinking game everytime I write the word 'just', I worry that you might get drunk.

One last thing, is anyone reading this like at all? Because no one had been reviewing and I feel kind of sad about that.

OoOoOo

Mamori had been staring at her phone and sighed. She knew she shouldn't have combusted on Youichi that way or at all. But she didn't know what to do. He was being difficult and stupid. Fine, she was the one who was being stupid. She shouldn't have pushed. She shouldn't have thought that there was absolutely nothing major would change. Long distance was an added factor. They got back together after a painful break-up. She knew what happened to him. She happened to him. After everything she had promised him. After everything she knew about him, she still decided on letting go.

She made him that way. It was her fault. Every assurance her mouth would leave her wasn't enough because she did it once. It was only understandable that he would think it was his fault that she left him once. It would be understandable that he tried changing because he thought that there was something wrong with him. She knew all this. She should have been patient. Instead what?

"Mamokaa-san" sweet little Kenji's voice broke her stupor. Yeah, it was always a bad idea to half breakdown inside a famous café at a rush hour when you were about to meet up with your (future) nephew and (future) sister-in-law. Mamori put her phone down facing downward which didn't go unnoticed by Seizu-san. She tried plastering a genuine smile at her face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Mamori."

"No I didn't wait that long." Even if she did, she really didn't felt it at all.

"Have you ordered yet?" Mamori gestured a no and Seizu called upon the waitress.

OoOoOo

"Ano, senpai did you have a fight with Mamori-neechan?" Sena, god blessed his good soul asked Hiruma after their practice. They were both in Armadillo now. Sena was actually one of the reasons why he went back to Japan. If looks can actually kill, he sighed he couldn't touch Sena. Not because he physically can't. It was because he knew she would get mad at her. Seriously, he had been doing everything he can. He was trying to be her knight in shining beat up armor. But every f*cking single thing he does, well they don't seem to be enough. Every f*cking single f*cking thing he does. Maybe she made a mistake and she was only guilty. Maybe she took pity on him. The thought boiled his blood.

He threw his helmet at the ground strongly that it ricocheted towards Sena's unsuspecting face.

"Mind your own f*cking business f*cking shrimp."

But Sena couldn't just sit still and mind his own business. He cared about his nee-chan and his senpai. He can't possibly pretend that he didn't noticed how his senpai was acting all lost in their practice. He didn't want to see them fall apart again. He, as well as a lot of people wanted them to be happy. They deserved to be happy together.

OoOoOo

Ako, Sara and Suzuna went rushing towards Mamori's place when Seizu send an SOS message. The not entirely uninvited girls sat at the couch discussing silently the problem. But the problem with discussing it was that they didn't know what the problem was in the first place. Ako had thought that maybe Seizu had jump the gun with her SOS message but Suzuna differed. Suzuna, after receiving an e-mail from her boyfriend concluded that it might have been big. At least it was something big on Hiruma's side.

Mamori found out the hard way how hard it was to prepare a tea when your attention was divided. A curse flew out from her mouth. She would have made Hiruma proud. Thank goodness though that Kenji was on her room upstairs asleep. Seizu asked to babysit him while she travels to Brunei for a business meeting. When her preparations were done, she brought the tea and some cookies to the awaiting guest with of course the help of her Nee-chan.

"What did he do?"

OoOoOo

Hiruma pondered on calling his fiancée. It had been awhile. Maybe she had simmered down and maybe they can ignore the fact that they had a fight. Pretend that there was nothing wrong. Pretend that he wasn't threading on thin lines just to keep her. Everything was alright. There was nothing wrong. She loved him. She'll stay, right?

OoOoOo

Mamori had waved her friends goodbye. At first they were reluctant to go but she was able to persuade them without telling them anything. She believed it was none of their business. True, they only mean good but she wasn't ready to tell it to anyone yet. She wasn't even sure she wanted Hiruma to know. She didn't want him realizing that it was her fault because she was afraid that she was right. That if they proved that by leaving him a year ago resulted into this half broken Hiruma that he is currently, he might not forgive her. He might leave her. And it sounds so selfish but she just wanted to pretend right now. Perhaps if she pretend strongly enough, it would eventually come true. It would fix itself. They would finally be the demon and angel. It might have merely been her anxiety. It wouldn't be the first time that she actually read too much between the lines.

"I'm so sorry for bothering you with Kenji Mamori."

"No, its fine Nee-chan. Kenji-kun is like a son to me." Seizu nodded in understanding.

"If there's anything you need or you want to talk about Mamori."

"It's nothing Nee-chan. I just miss Youichi."

OoOoOo

"Took you long enough Anezaki. What the f*ck have you been doing? Stuffing yourself with creampuffs I presume." Hiruma tried for the mischievous approach with his signature grin surfaced on his indecipherable face. Even on screen he could see the vein popping in her head.

"Mou Youichi! And don't be so loud Kenji's sleeping." She was glad he was slowly returning into his normal self. And they continued talking in hushed tones. They talked but they never really. They smiled but the honesty was missing. Words were spoken, articulated but not the words that really mattered. And so when the clock hit midnight in Japan, they had to end the video call. And the farewell and words of longing were genuine, as well as the words of one's devotion to another. But didn't extinguish the doubt, the questions they had inside.

At the end, they both frowned and sighed when the call finally disconnected.

"Everything is alright." They both lied to themselves.

 **OoOoOo**

 **I swear I'm not trying to end their relationship again. This is just a need to phase. Please senpai, I beg of you notice me with your Review and Comments.**


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